Walker says minimum wage hike (but definitely not tax cuts!) is a "political stunt"

Hypocrisy in criticism as governor tries to shut off debate on wages

“I think [a proposal to raise the minimum wage] is nothing more than a misguided political stunt,” Gov. Scott Walker said recently.

That’s the way to talk about policy proposals, I guess, if you’re Gov. Walker. A popular policy change -- three out of every four Americans support a minimum wage raise -- Walker somehow thinks that it’s all a gimmick, that Democrats support helping the poorest of workers simply for cheap votes.

What can we make of Walker’s plan to cut taxes, then? Isn’t that a “political stunt?”

Of course it isn’t. Tax cuts could never be a political stunt. Not in an election year, right?

The average homeowner is set to receive about $150 in tax savings from Walker’s plan. Meanwhile, an increase in the minimum wage by $2.85 (up to $10.10 per hour) would increase wages for those single full-time workers by about $5,928 annually.

With 94,000 minimum wage workers recorded in the state of Wisconsin in 2012, that amounts to an influx of about $557.2 million yearly into local economies across the state, without costing the state a single cent in revenues.

But I guess nearly $557.2 million in increased wages for minimum wage workers -- not to mention the increases in wages for those that are earning just slightly above the minimum wage -- is just another “political stunt” in Walker’s eyes.